It’s that time of year again… while Michael Bublé is playing on repeat, many businesses are full steam ahead with planning for 2024… so there’s no better time to write an effective marketing strategy that’ll help kick those business goals for the year ahead. 

Behind every good marketing strategy, is a lot of research and consideration, and that’s where marketing trends tie in. Anticipating marketing trends helps us forecast the foreseeable future and they’re invaluable in helping create a successful strategy.

While there’s some notable shifts in marketing being driven by tech, data privacy and AI at the moment, social media marketing is not going anywhere, so today we’re talking specifically about trends we’re seeing in social media.

After all, trends reflect changes in consumer behaviour, preferences, expectations and needs so they affect how businesses operate and compete in a market.  

So, grab a mulled wine and kickback as we share some key social media marketing trends that are forces to be reckoned with [and implemented] in your 2024 marketing strategy. 

 

organic social media is not dead!

There’s no doubt social media is flooded and getting your content in front of the right audience is becoming increasingly difficult. Does this mean you should give up on organic social media altogether? Absolutely not – organic is often underestimated but it’s a different beast to paid social media advertising and they both serve a purpose to achieve different goals [paid coming up next].  

Effective organic social media means encompassing community management [building an authentic community among your customers + partners by interacting with them in various ways], carefully strategised storytelling that is authentic and connecting with your audience.

pad up your paid advertising budget  

Since July 2023, the average engagement rate for an organic Facebook post decreased from 2.58% to just 1.52%. We know… it’s a terrifying time if you’ve always relied on organic social media to do the heavy lifting.  

Consider this is your wake-up call to ‘pay to play’ in 2024 and beyond, so make sure you start allocating a paid social media budget if you haven’t already. There’s no question having paid advertising will become vital for marketing strategies in 2024, so make sure you include in your budget! 

If you’re worried about how you’re going to keep up with remaining present on all platforms, you’ll be happy to know social media trends are indicating brands are moving towards committing to one ‘champion’ platform to get the biggest bang for their buck. 

AI + CGI + UGC = 2024

Since when did marketing become maths [newsflash it always was, we’re essentially data analysts!] and what on earth does the above formula mean?  

Let’s break it down – AI is artificial intelligence, CGI is computer-generated information and UGC is user-generated content.  

This triad has been used in big marketing campaigns over the last year; from the Barbie movie to Maybelline’s viral mascara campaign, the use of UGC and CGI ruled as king. 

The benefit? It enables brands to develop digital marketing campaigns [that would’ve previously blown the budget and are now in reach] by enhancing both creativity and efficiency.  

One of the recent CGI campaigns to blow up was from Australia’s very own – Mecca. Check out their Sol De Jenaro launch below. 

@meccabeauty

Spotted at Bondi Beach and Melbourne CBD! 👋 SolDeJaneiro, we see you 😉 #MECCAmoment

♬ original sound – MECCA

video marketing + short-form content 

Video marketing and short-form video in particular are 2 trends that continue to dominate on social media platforms. Why? It’s the engaging visual appeal combined with our dwindling attention spans that has us captivated and hungry for more!  

TikTok and Instagram are no longer strictly used to chat to friends or for scrolling marathons. They’re also used as search engines and for some [we’re looking at you, Gen Z], it’s their platform of choice for finding out information. 

If your target audience is hanging out on TikTok, it’s worth including this in your 2024 strategy as it’s one of the biggest threats to search engines [along with ChatGPT]. And if you think TikTok is just for kids, close to 40% of the adult population are using TikTok [and almost 30% of all Australians], so it’s time to take it seriously.  Speaking of search engines, don’t forget the growth of voice search should be considered too. 

 

key takeaways 

There you have it, our favourite 4 [and some] social media marketing trends for 2024! Business owners take note, if you’re wanting to remain relevant, leveraging these trends will set you up on the right track for success.  

Stay tuned for these trends and remember, we’re here to help you navigate the digital landscape. Cheers to a successful 2024!

This blog was co-authored by Marketing Executive, Anneliese Bown.

 

we’re here to help  

We know it’s a lot to take in, and we understand the time and resources this requires. If you need any help with strategy, branding or social media marketing, give the team at businessDEPOT Marketing a buzz on 1300BDEPOT or get in touch via marketing@businessdepot.com.au . 

 

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